Peach Blossom
by UnluckyAmulet
Summary: One hot summer day Itachi is lying in the peach orchard. He is stumbled upon by a lonely young Sakura. Itachi x Sakura. Implied SakuSasu.


Hey readers! Just to say that I don't own Naruto. Enjoy my fanfic of it! Slight SasuSaku and ItaSaku.

* * *

A glint of steel flashed between the trees, striking its target with almost terrifying accuracy. The black-haired teenaged boy smirked slightly as he walked quietly forwards, plucking the shuriken from the targets he had set up. Every single one of them had hit.

Itachi leant back against a tree, brushing a stand of hair out of his dark eyes. The day was stiflingly hot, and it was almost noon, the peak of the lazy summer day. There wasn't a cloud in the nearly blinding azure sky. The trees provided decent shadow coverage, and Itachi was in no particular hurry.

Sasuke had gone with his parents somewhere for the day, probably to do with training. The entire mood of Konoha seemed to be a drowsy, calm state.

The scent of the peach trees was almost over-whelming, the tangy smell adding to the lethargic atmosphere. Itachi looked up, eyeing the pinkish-orange fruit.

Carelessly, he threw the Shuriken, the blade slicing the stem of the peach cleanly; the fruit dropping into Itachi's outstretched palm. He bit into the peach, the orange-ish juice trickling down his chin, becoming sticky rapidly. He wiped it off hurriedly, the sticky juice clinging to his wrist. The shinobi hesitated, then licked it all off, savouring the juicy, tangy taste.

The ninja looked out into the distance from his tree. Konoha was basked in golden sunlight. The grass from the fields were yellowing in the heat, though there were still plenty of flowers standing valiantly against the temperature, insects scuttling under their flimsy shadows.  
People weren't really walking around much in the hotness of the day, but simply lounging around, sipping drinks or talking under the heat. Despite the stifling heat and boredom, it was truly a blissful day.

* * *

Haruno Sakura staggered slightly, panting, sweat beading her forehead. Her clothes stuck uncomfortably to her back, the magenta ribbon in her hair making her head hot. She had been walking around all day, searching.

For Uchiha Sasuke.

Little Sakura wasn't exactly forward; She didn't actually want to _talk_ to him. Goodness, no. The idea sent a shiver of both fear and excitement up the tiny kunoichi's spine.

She just got a secret joy from seeing him from time to time, even if it was just a glimpse of his jet-black hair, his pale skin or intense expression. Sasuke was only still in the Academy, just like her, but Sakura had never seen anyone so hard-working. It was almost like being a ninja it came naturally to him, like he didn't need to practise at all, but he still worked so hard to prove himself.

Many girls, including her best friend Ino, had already noticed his obvious looks and charisma; he was the kind of boy that Sakura could only think about. Plus, she had nothing better to do.

Her father was out on a mission, and her mother had gone to run 'errands' for the day, meaning to go buy the family supplies and chat to the other mothers. Sakura had been told she was free to go out for the day but 'not to 'get up to mischief'.

The pink-haired girl was hot, tired and bored.  
She made her way up to the woods, thinking she could at least splash her face in the stream or sit under a tree for a bit and get some energy back. It was fairly quiet up there, and it smelt sweet and ripe with peaches, and the white blossom trees looked very pretty.

But as the young girl pushed a couple of bushes out of her way, she was shocked to see a teenaged boy sitting casually against the bark, eating a peach. Uchiha Itachi, to be more precise, though Sakura did not know his first name.

She blinked, staring at him shyly, wondering if she was to go back to the village. But the boy, seeing her, smiled very slightly, letting her know it was okay to approach. Sakura hesitated, and then came forward.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi had been bored. Wishing was a waste of time to him, but he had been wanting some company and he most certainly hadn't expected a little girl to suddenly step through the bushes.

There had been a couple of moment's silence, the girl looking hesitant and somehow...sad.  
Judging by the amount of body he could see, she had obviously been out in the heat all day and had tried to seek refuge somewhere.

Itachi had contemplated what to do for a few seconds, but something in her eyes had caught his attention; She was lonely. Itachi was bored. He could use some company, if only for a little while. Besides, she was just a little kid. There wasn't really any particular reason for him to get her to leave.

"Hi." she said nervously, stepping slightly forward so the branches of the bushes rested back into their regular position. She still seemed nervous. "I'm H-Haruno Sakura."

"Uchiha Itachi." he responded by a way of greeting, his voice sounding smooth and mysterious.

He gestured for he to sit down. She did, taking care not to get dirt on her attire. The green-eyed girl seemed to relax slightly.

"What's that you're eating?" she asked him, pointing shyly at the fruit. He smiled very slightly again, the orange juice of the fruit gleaming slightly in the glaring sun.

"Peach." Itachi responded, his eyes flicking up and down the small girl. "Would you like one?"

"Yeah!" Sakura said excitedly. Then she looked up. "They're too high though."

Wordlessly, Itachi retrieved a shuriken from his pocket. The bubblegum-haired kunoichi-to-be widened her emerald orbs in surprised, but Itachi flicked his wrist and the shuriken was merely a dark silver flash, as it split another peach easily from it's stem.  
The fruit landed with a soft thud in the grass by the girl's feet.

"Wow!" the child gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Luck. And a little practise." the teenager replied peaceably, enjoying how impressed she was. Sakura stretched forward and picked it gently up, the peach almost the size of her hand. She turned it carefully, examining as though it was a precious diamond. Then she stopped.

"What is it?" Itachi asked, gently. Sakura turned to peach from him to see. A dark, squishy patch of greyish-purple was on the lower side of the peach.

"It's bruised." Sakura said, almost in a whisper. Itachi tilted his head to one side, amused and yet touched somewhat at the young female's concern for the fruit.

"Do you want me to get you another?" he asked. Sakura shook her head vigorously, her rose-coloured bangs flicking around her head.

"I don't mind bruises." she smiled, and took a big bite, her little white teeth sinking into the fuzzy flesh of the fruit. When her face re-emerged from the fruit, she had peach juice all around her mouth. She licked it away, with none of the grace Itachi had, though somehow it made the action seem charming.

"Why were you wondering around on your own, Haruno Sakura?" Itachi asked her, his dark brown hair lying in a loose ponytail against his back. Sakura looked up from the peach, her happy expression fading. She lowered her head.

"I was looking for Sasuke-kun..." she mumbled, her eyes looking glassy. "But I couldn't find him."

She seemed embarrassed, as though it was foolish to not to want to be alone. Itachi felt...almost sorry for her. He decided to give the kunoichi-to-be the answer she was looking for, but probably not the one she wanted to hear.

"Sasuke's gone." he told her, his tone soft and careful. "He's out training."

"I see..." the girl nodded. Itachi stretched forwards and retrieved the peach, holding it to Sakura, who blinked, a little harder then necessary.

"Forget about It." the teenager told her quietly. "Take this."

"T-thank you..." Sakura stared at the peach for a second, before taking it back.

She bit into it again suddenly, forcefully, her teeth scraping against the stone of the peach, her canines sinking deep into the flesh, chewing rapidly and swallowing, and before long she had devoured the entire peach, except the stone.

She held it in the palm of her hand, looking at it for a minute, and her small, pale hand clenched it, tears prickling in her eyes and trickling down the sides of her face.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked her, slightly concerned. Sakura scrubbed at her eyes.

"It's just..." she stammered, her voice catching in her throat, her speech jumpy because she was trying hard to breathe properly between crying "That I-I've been looking for him this w-whole time and it was all a -waste!"

She sniffed her cheeks red. Itachi did not say anything for a moment as Sakura regained control of her breaths.

Then he slowly stood up, reaching up into the trees, his arms looking muscled under the glare out the sun. He pulled something down from the tree, and handed it to Sakura. She held it carefully in her sticky hands, her expression puzzled.

"What's this, Itachi-san?"

"It's a peach blossom." Itachi explained, his index finger pushing one of the little white petals up, "Go plant the peach-pit and put the flower in some water. Who knows? Maybe something special will grow from them."

Little Sakura sniffed, and stood carefully up, holding the little branch with the peach-blossom in one hand, the peach-pit in the other. Her expression was one of curiosity and confusion. Then she smiled, her eyes lighting up.

"Thank you, Itachi-san! I will!"

And then she bowed and turned to run, her feet making light crunching sounds on the sun-dried grass. Then, just before she got to the edge of the hill, she turned and waved,

"Goodbye, Itachi-san! Thank you!"

Then she was gone, the red ribbon flapping slightly as the bubblegum-haired kunoichi ran back into the village. Itachi's mouth quirked into a secret smile as he turned away, the shadow of the trees falling over his body.

_Maybe today wasn't such a waste of time, after all..._


End file.
